


Promise

by autumnsolstice9



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Gen, One Shot, hinted romitri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 20:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10670262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: "Do you remember dying?"





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This is meant to take place sometime after Dimitri become dhampir again.

Lissa is sitting with Dimitri, attempting to be the saving grace he thinks she is, when Rose stumbles into her room. Christian glances up from the corner where he was reading a book, and Lissa can see tension work its way into his shoulders.

She understands why. Rose is drunk- more drunk than Lissa’s ever seen her- and instead of being happy or angry like drunk Rose usually is, she has panic written on her face. Looking at her aura, she can see the shadow-kissed darkness in her, and that was enough to be worried about. The darkness was larger than the last time she checked on Rose, and it was terrifying to think that her actions could be pushing her best friend to the brink of madness. She hoped that wasn’t why Rose was so intoxicated right now. Maybe she had taken a page out of Adrian’s book and decided alcohol was the best way to numb the madness.

Next to her, Dimitri stilled. He hid his emotions well, but his aura showed that he was worried. Lissa wasn’t sure if it was fear for Rose’s health, or fear that she had come to seek him out again. The dynamic between Rose and Dimitri confused her, but she would think about it later. Right now, Rose needed her.

“Lissa,” her friend muttered, dark eyes wild while a hand tugged at her hair, “I can’t stop remembering it. I can’t stop dreaming about it.”

“What is it, Rose?” she questioned, standing up and reaching her hand out. Christian moved to her side, and Dimitri just stared at the table.

She didn’t understand why he was still so tense- Rose didn’t even seem to register him. Her gaze was locked with Lissa’s, and while she was sure that her friend was aware of Dimitri’s presence, it didn’t seem important enough to say something about.

That scared Lissa more than anything: that her spitfire friend was in such a state she would ignore the man she loved- or maybe hated at this point- as if they weren’t even there.

Rose ignored Lissa’s outstretched hand and began to dig her nails into her arms, drawing blood. “Christian,” Lissa muttered, “call Adrian. And Janine or Abe Mazur.”

He didn’t spare a second in taking out his phone, and Lissa turned back to Rose. She moved forward, grabbing a callused hand and gently pulling her friend towards the chair Lissa just occupied next to Dimitri.

“They all see me,” Rose slurred, “and see the shadow-kissed girl, and they all have questions. What’s the bond like? Do you have any powers? Does it affect your guardian job? But,” she said, her voice rising, “I got the best one yesterday! Some terminally ill dhampir boy, and he had the best question!”

The room was on edge- Lissa processing her friend’s words, Christian showing open panic, and Dimitri now watching with curiosity. “Rose,” Christian asked, his voice as gentle as Lissa could imagine it being, “what did he ask you?”

Her friend’s smile was bitter and twisted, her eyes manic and slightly crazed. “He wanted to know if I could remember dying!” She threw her head back and gave a hollow laugh, and the room grew even more quiet, if that was possible.

“And you know what, I do! I remember dying! And the kid wanted to know, how does it feel? And what was I supposed to say? This kid is going to die and then shadow-kissed Rose is going to have another ghost!”

She gave another hollow laugh before becoming deadly quiet, quickly grabbing onto Lissa’s hand with a force she had never used with her best friend before. At that point, Janine and Abe had entered the room, their presences demanding. “You have to understand why I lied to him,” Rose whispered, her eyes boring into Lissa’s. “I told him it would be easy, like falling asleep, but it’s a lie. It hurts so much. And I can’t stop remembering it.”

Janine rushed forward, Abe following behind her, kneeling down on opposite sides of their daughter. “What is she talking about? What’s wrong?” Janine’s sharp voice demanded.

Lissa was too shell-shocked to answer. She knew Rose had been severely depressed after the car crash, but she never knew to what extent the crash affected her. Rose had been so worried over her for years, that Lissa often forgot her friend had gone through the same hardship.

Christian’s voice brought Lissa back to reality. “She’s really drunk, for a start, but she said she, well, she… she remembers dying.” The room was silent except for Janine’s gasp as she covered her mouth, her eyes squeezing shut. Before Lissa could even blink, the guardian mask was back in place. 

“Rose,” Janine gently pressed, “what do you remember about dying?”

There was no response for a few seconds, and then tears started pouring out of her face. “It hurt so much. It wasn’t instant. There was so much blood, and I couldn’t move, and my neck was cut from the seat belt. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be alive. The car crushed my ribs, and it was only a couple seconds, but my body felt like it was on fire, and all I saw was Andre’s body and then there was blood in my eyes and then I was gone.”

By the end, her hand had grabbed onto Dimitri’s, but he pulled his away. Lissa was annoyed by that- Rose was obviously in a lot of pain, and she needed support. Even if they weren’t romantically together, he had understood her in a way Lissa didn’t, and she needed that in this moment. 

Rose’s voice was sober and serious when continued, sending chills down Lissa’s spine. “Lissa, the ghosts know. Anytime I let my guard down they try to drag me back to the dead. And Andre, oh god, he keeps trying to bring me back. I was supposed to go with him, walk into that world together, let him know that it would be okay, but I came back. And now he keeps trying to drag me back.

“The realm of the dead won’t let me go a second time. Andre won’t let me go. If I die again, don’t bring me back. Promise me. Promise me you won’t. I can’t go through it again.”

It would be hard for her- nearly impossible- but the panic of Rose’s face made Lissa swallow any protest. “I won’t, I promise.”

Janine let out a sob and Abe escorted her out the room. Christian had left minutes earlier, telling Adrian about the situation going on. Dimitri’s face had become deadly still as he regarded Lissa, a flare of fear in his eyes that she had never seen before.

“Would you really let her go? If she died again, would you let her stay dead?” He asked, his voice making it clear there was another message in there that Lissa couldn’t decipher.

She looked at Rose, who was crying silent tears as she dragged her hands down her arms, leaving red lines across her skin. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she wasn’t seeing what was around them. “Look at her, Dimitri. Really look. I know she’s been putting on a tough face for you, but you should know better. She’s been hurting for years. She keeps me sane at her own risk. She has nightmares about her own death- except they're memories. She’s never asked me for anything. If this is what she wants, then I have to respect it.”

His eyes became stormy, filled with anger. “She’s your friend, and you would let her die?” His voice was filled with a venom she didn’t know he possessed, but it was to be expected. She had just said she would let someone he loved- or maybe, she thought, still loves- die.

“I can’t protect her, Dimitri. It will hurt me if she dies, but it will hurt her more if she keeps coming back and her sanity crumbles. I can’t let her end up like Anna. I can’t let her keep my madness until I die and she kills herself. This is what she wants.”

He held her gaze for a moment, emotions quickly flickering across his face. When he looked away, his face was as soft and open as it was when he first became dhampir again. “I’ll protect you, Roza,” he murmured, his hand clasping hers. “I’ll make sure you don’t ever die again.”

Rose’s tears started slowing and she stopped scratching her arms. Her voice was quiet when she spoke, but Lissa knew they held mountains worth of meaning when she said them- three simple words: “Thank you, Dimitri.”

Lissa allowed herself a small smile. It might hurt Adrian, but perhaps there was hope for Rose and Dimitri.

Perhaps there was hope her friend’s darkness would lighten up.

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot how much I loved this series and then I binge read the books and now I'm emo again


End file.
